When COVID-19 first emerged, the world was forced to slow down. While this disrupted countless industries, others were able to take advantage of new markets to emerge as the pandemic’s profitable victors. In particular, tech companies flourished as more people were forced to rely on digital solutions to work and communicate more effectively.
While it may seem counterintuitive to start a business now, this has proven to not be the case. Business startups in the US boomed during the pandemic, with CNBC reporting that numbers grew from 3.5 million in 2019 to 4.3 million in 2020. The most successful of these included those that answered niche pandemic-era demands, such as the online peer tutoring platform YourTime and patient monitoring tool Current Health.
If you’re looking to start a tech business that you believe can make a mark, then here’s how to get started.
The right product idea
In order to stand out and be successful in a crowded market, you need a good product. Consider who your end-users will be and why they’ll want to use your solution. In 2018, San Francisco-based startup Zippin launched a checkout-free software platform, enabling retailers to put up frictionless shopping policies into their stores through QR codes, RFID tags, and smart shopping carts. This made purchasing in physical stores much smoother and safer. This year the company was able to raise $30 million.
You should also find current customer demands to fulfill. Since the pandemic started, online tech resource Infoworld reported that cloud adoption has been on the rise with 9 out of 10 companies accelerating their cloud adoption. Offering a secure cloud network or platform to small businesses would be a viable venture due to the increasing demand for cloud technology.
Do your market research
Knowing your target market will help you determine their size, potential, and any barriers to entry. When choosing a target market it is better to cater to the needs and behavior of a small group, rather than trying to pander to the interests of as many customers as possible. Developer repository provider GitHub, for example, has decided to provide a solution for teams looking to better collaborate on a single platform. This is why their products are packaged as “GitHub Team,” “GitHub Enterprise,” and “GitHub Free for organizations.”
Source your funds
Due to the number of intricacies needed to research, develop, and distribute software and hardware, it costs a lot to launch a tech business. This is why many tech startups, like InnaMed, turned to crowdfunding.
Crowdfunding can help with quickly amassing funds, giving you early feedback, and growing you an initial customer base. According to comprehensive online financial resource Askmoney.com, you just need to pitch your idea on the right platform. The website notes that Indiegogo is best for long-term tech crowdfunding campaigns, while Kickstarter users are highly receptive to creatively innovative products. The smart bike helmet by tech company Lumos’, which has now received nearly $3 million in crowdfunding, was a venture on Kickstarter.
Alternatively, you can seek an investor who can fund your idea. Tech conferences such as LAUNCH Scale and startup pitch competitions like TechCrunch Disrupt can help you find people who will support you.
Build the right team
As we’ve previously written about in our post on ‘6 Areas of Expertise You’ll Need in Your Start-up Business, some recommended areas of expertise for tech startups include legal, finance, marketing, and PR. There’s more to a tech business than building the product, and you’re going to need the right people in place if you want to jumpstart your venture.
To be more cost-efficient, consider only hiring some positions, like legal and PR, when needed.
Spread the word
With so many tech startups being established every day (there are more than 40,000 tech projects that have met their Kickstarter target alone), it’s important to create a buzz around your product before and after it launches. After all, this can determine the reception and success of the product.
For this, cost-effective digital marketing strategies can drive some much-needed attention to both your product and your product’s website, once you’ve created the latter. Cohesity, a 2013 cloud tech startup whose market value recently reached $2.5 billion, hosted free webinars during their first few months to attract potential leads.
You can also leverage social media like Twitter, Facebook, and even TikTok to amplify your brand’s presence.
Though doing so amid a pandemic will require a lot of time, effort, and funding, your dreams of building a tech startup can become reality. We hope the above tips help. For more news and information please check out our other articles on Nashvillechatterclass.com